TURNING SIXTY

                                                               or
A Gal - A Gremlin and a Kamikaze Hippopotamus

It will happen soon
I can feel it in my bones
As inescapable as time
As unavoidable as fate
SIXTY!
Oh yes, it's coming
I can sense it in my soul
Can almost smell it in the air
It's coming all right
SIXTY!!
Thank God
Not Years
Not age
DEGREES!
Rite of passage
Rite of spring
Gal pal - Deb
Gremlin - car not creature
Hippo
Beanbag toy on dash
By the name of
"Uhdgee Bhudgee"
- Hey, we all have to be named something -
First warm day
SIXTY!
Day of Celebration
Day of Jubilation
Day of Inspiration
Off we go - Deb driving
(Her car)
Me shotgun
Uhdgee Bhudgee on dash between
Windows down
Radio blaring
-Oldies-
She and I each
With our own giant bottle
of
Bubble Soap
Arms extending out windows
Holding slippery
Red plastic wands
So that the breeze's breath
Can blow
BUBBLES!
Thousands of spherical harbingers
Of
Spring
Laughing and singing
Along with the radio
At the top of our lungs
Those we pass
Amused
Bemused
Confused
As cascades of
Chatoyant
Shimmering
Celebration
Dance about them
At every red light
Sudden stops
(The brakes grab a bit)
And the hippo makes a
Desperate attempt
at
Flight
Never succeeding
But neither
Surrendering the dream
Every stop another launch
Another crash landing
(Hence Kamikaze)
Quick stop at bank
Drive thru
Funds for munchies
Filling the plastic container
with
BUBBLES!
Vacuum tubed delight
In to the girls stuck behind thick glass
Like fish in an aquarium
The mermaids smile and wave
Plastic container returned
Sans bubbles
White envelope - currency
And two
SUCKERS!
One red - One purple
Deb's favorite - cherry
Mine - grape
(And they say there is no God)
Onward and upward
Cruising thru the
Golden Afternoon
Boisterous bubblings billowing
Behind us
Delayed adolescence?
Early onset dementia?
Nope
BLISS!
Too soon the sun sinks
The day cools
Sixty is over
Oh-
It will return
But it will not be special
Just spring
Deb and I still talk
See one another
Occasionally
But life moved us
onto different paths
Which life is
Want to do
Gremlin-scrapped
"Uhdgee Bhudgee"-
Stolen
(What IS this world coming to?)
Or
Perhaps at long last
A successful take-off
But come the day of
SIXTY!
And I will take my
bubble soap
From the shelf
Open my third floor window
Extend my arm
Holding the red plastic wand
So that the breeze's warm breath
Can welcome Spring
And if a few
BUBBLES
Are carried across the miles
to Deb
They will make her
SMILE!
For she will know
Who they are
From